| "I've been looking at the MXR M-80 DI and the MXR Blowtorch also the big and little big muff but im not sure which would be right for me."
I myself went through this search a few months back
The MXR M-80 is a good unit but i find myself NOT using the distortion as it sounds a bit dark and lifeless to me....The Blowtorch is way overkill and i found that with it turned on i really lost a lot of note definition...
I tried all three of the Bug Muff PI's and found them not at all what i was looking for (of the three i liked the green russian one the best) again awy too much fuzz and major loss of note definition IMHO
I think what your really looking for is an overdrive pedal, and based on what you have to spend i would look at the Vodoo Labs Sparkle Drive (Which is the unit i bought) and the BBE Green Screamer both gave me that nice gritty tone i was looking for...but i chose the Sparkle drive simply because it has a clean boost knob and allowed me to mix my sound to a much better degree from song to song.
Here is a list or what i tried out..now keep in mind i wanted something to just clip my sound and add an edge to my drive nothing seriously in your face...
Keep in mind I'm not a gear head and I don't usually play through a lot of pedals.
MXR M 181 Bass Blowtorch....$139.99 way too much buzz for me not my thing
E.H. English Muffin....$189.99 the sound was ok but still kind of muddy for my taste it was warm but no brights to my ears...
Visual Sound Jeckyl & Hyde overdrive....$129.99 i liked the sound of the overdrive on this pedal but its color an size were a bit of a turnoff and i would never ever use the distortion side of this pedal for what i play so i moved on down my list.
T Rex Moller Overdrive w clean Boost...$279.99 Wow is all i can say at half clean and half dirty this thing is simply amazing... however it is kind of on the large size and the cost...sheesh i really didn't want to spend this much on one pedal but considering the advantages of the boost feature i made note of it and moved on...
GK Diesel Dawg...$149.99 yuck not my thing, although i like the casing and overall look just way too much noise for what i play
MXR Custom Audio MC-402 $139.99 nice pedal i liked the sound of this one too, but overall it seemed kind of thin and sounded kind of like it was being covered with a pillow...and the build seemed a little flimsy
Tech 21 American Woman Overdrive $109.99 great sound i have to admit but the gate feature sucks and is way too sensitive even on the lowest setting it kept stopping my note ring, it decided for me when i was done...i figure you can find a way to disable it but why bother..i moved on
Digitech Bad Monkey $49.99 great sound for a fifty dollar pedal but overall it sounded very much like somebody stuck your amp in a cardboard box and sealed it if you could find a way to brighen this thing up it would work great plus i don't like the casing...i moved on
T.C. Electronic Vintage Overdrive.....$199.99 Wow like warm butter and honey on a soft freshly and lighly toasted muffin. i like this pedal a lot guys so i set it aside as i had a few more to try out...
T.C. Electronic VPDI Overdrive $299.99 not much of an improvemnet over the pedal posted above, in fact i didn't like it as much not for 100.00 bucks more
DNA Analog VT-1 Virtual tube overdrive $239.00 ok sound but for the price i had already tried better...I moved on
Ibanez PD7 Phat Head $49.99 um... seriously does anybody think this things sounds good? I couldn't get one single usable tone out of this thing.
VooDoo Labs Sparkle Drive...$129.99 wow this thing is almost perfect, good price, good sound, nice casing, and built/ made in the U.S. 5 year warranty plus a clean boost channel....however the only trouble with this pedal is when you kick in the clean boost you loose a little of the drive...however at half and half it sounds really really....well nice. While i didn't like the sound quite as much as the T.C. Electronics pedal or the T Rex, the price and the boost channel made my decision that much harder to make...
and Finally
The BBE Green Screamer $99.99 and comes with it own ac adapter...as i understand it this is a modded clone of the Ts808 for 100.00 bucks i honestly can't understand why people are still buying the Ibanez Tube Screamer re-issue (yes i tried it too) as this pedal sounds so much better and at $70.00 bucks less its a no brainer...
man My decision are getting that much harder...lol especially when i put the Green Screamer with the BBE Boosta Grande all i can say is damn this nails it....
Ok well now i'm down to what really sounds the best and what do i want to spend
The T Rex I really like but at $279.99 i didn't like it that much
the T.C Electronics pedal at $199.99 man this is hard
The Green screamer at $99.99 paired with the Boosta Grande at $79.99 thats 10 bucks less than the T.C. the sound is very much the same but i have to say i like the Green Screamer and Boosta paired together better...
Then there is the VooDoo Labs Pedal at $129.99 i could live with the slight loss of drive with the clean boost kicked in..especially for the price and the added benefit of a 5 year warranty and being made in the U.S.
In the end i walked away with the Vodoo Labs Sparkle Drive paired up with An MXR M-80 bass Direct box and an Aphex Bass Xciter out the door for $290.00 plus tax, as i had an $ 80.00 credit (returned a big Muff Pi and an adapter)
I almost bought the Green Screamer and the Boosta Grande as paired together they were simply superb....
but i'm a cheap bastard...lol
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Last edited by Snakeman1066 : 04-15-2008 at 12:24 AM.
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